Every Dog Has Her Day

by SilverNotes

Call Off The Dogs

Winter was turning to spring. It was still chill enough for Precious to wear her sweater, but the remaining patches of snow were shrinking by the day, and the bushes and trees were starting to regrow their leaves. There would be traffic through the mountains again soon, however sparse, and as always she would leave the travelers be unless it was Fluttershy coming to call.

There had been a shift in how the other dogs looked at her, over the winter. She'd been permitted to stay in a few times, during the harshest days when there were blizzards, or it grew downright dangerously cold, but she had a feeling that they'd been expecting her to act with more visible relief, perhaps even to beg, once the weather cleared again and she had to return to her post, to be taken off the daily duty and finally be allowed to stay in the tunnels. Instead, she'd continued to go out, and stay all day, and she knew that it was starting to make them talk.

Dogs didn't normally scout in winter. It was already a joke of a duty, a punishment. She'd been told she'd be done when she captured a pony, but she was sure now that nodog had expected her to. Ponies weren't weak, and there hadn't been one working for the pack in Precious's entire life. She was sure any scout who'd tried had been soundly kicked around, and it was more likely that they would hide, like she had, and then eventually apologise for their transgression and grovel their way into the safety of the caves.

Precious had done no such thing, even when Spot had hinted to her one day that Rover would be generous and welcome her back if she did. The three curs hadn't come up topside to bother her all winter, and she wasn't sure if she'd won some strange respect from them, or if they just didn't want to face the cold and snow in order to taunt her.

Fluttershy had come a couple more times since Hearth's Warming--the gift that day had been festive biscuits, which had been thoroughly enjoyed even when she'd had to ask the little pegasus the meaning of each of their shapes--but it'd worried Precious to have her making the trek out. At least now it would no doubt be safer, and she could look forward to seeing her more in the spring.

As if on cue, she heard a familiar voice in the distance and her ears perked, only for them to pin again in concern when she realized she heard multiple voices. Fluttershy had always come alone before, despite having talked so much about her group of friends, and suddenly Precious had the urge to hide. The bushes and trees wouldn't be able to properly hide her, however, and there wasn't enough snow left to bury herself in, and so she simply waited, trying her best not to outright quiver.

"...She's really very nice." That was Fluttershy's voice, finally close enough to pick out words.

"I'm sure she is, Shy," came another voice, deeper in tone and sounding a bit... older? It was hard to tell with ponies. "But it's a little strange, all the same, her being out there alone all the time. I just want to make sure everything's okay."

A third voice piped up, lower than Fluttershy's but higher than the second voice. "Diamond dogs are rarely seen up on the surface, and they're very group-oriented. A single one here on her own is very out of the ordinary."

These ponies knew that about diamond dogs?

Precious found her heart sinking as Fluttershy gasped. "You don't think the other dogs kicked her out, do you? Oh that'd be terrible. Poor Precious."

A forth voice joined the conversation, scratchier and sounding much younger. "It'll be okay, Fluttershy. We'll get to the bottom of it and make sure your friend's safe."

She was going to get caught. These ponies would know what she was really doing out here, and she would never see Fluttershy again. Maybe the pack would be punished as well, all because she was selfish and wanted someone to talk to.

As the voices got closer, she tried to stuff the panic down and busy herself with sniffing the air, starting to follow a promising scent when she heard the call of, "Precious, are you out here? I brought some of my friends with me."

Precious turned, and looked, and realized that she'd brought more than just ponies. The two mares were unicorns, one all vibrant oranges and the other softer purples, reminding her of the colours that painted themselves across the sky every time she returned to the caves as day turned to night. A glance at the marks showed a sun and stars, respectively, neither of which told her anything about what they could do.

It was the third newcomer that truly made her want to stare, however. She hadn't known dragons were ever so small.

"Over here!" she managed, and drew four sets of eyes to where she had followed the smell to a patch of snow. She then tried to put on her best smile. "Hello, friends of Fluttershy. What brings you here?"

"That's what we wanted to ask--Ow!"

The orange unicorn hastily rammed her shoulder into the purple one, cutting off whatever she'd begun to say. "What we mean is, I'm Sunset Shimmer, this is my study-buddy, Twilight Sparkle, and this is Twilight's little brother, Spike. It's nice to meet you."

"Yes!" Twilight agreed hastily, even as she winced at her sore shoulder. "Like she said, it's nice to meet you, Precious. Fluttershy's been telling us a lot about you."

"It's all good things, don't worry," Spike added from where he sat on Twilight's back, though she saw his facial features scrunch up into something she had no hope of reading. "Uh, something wrong?"

Realizing she'd been caught staring, she let out some nervous, yipping giggles. "No no. It's just... I've never met a dragon before."

"Oh! Well--" He soon stood up on his sister's back and started to flex his stubby arms. "--Feel free to take it all in. I know I'm impressive. Wanna see my fire breath?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him. When we first met Fluttershy, he told her his entire life story."

"Hey, she asked!"

"I did ask."

Sunset cleared her throat, and Precious looked to her. "Fluttershy told us you keep watch out here over travelers. Do you get a lot of them?"

Her ears drooped. So here it was, the beginning of the end. "Not... many," she admitted. "Not a lot of ponies come this way. Too far from any pony towns." She smiled a little, despite herself, as she reached down to her collar, holding the small, blue diamond between two digits. "It means I have extra time to look for gems. I found this one last week. What do you think?"

"It looks very pretty on you," Fluttershy told her with a kind smile.

"And delicious," Spike chimed in, with a gleam in his eyes and a very different sort of smile, until Twilight shook a bit to jostle him. "I-I mean, it's a very nice colour. It looks good with your sweater."

Her smile grew that bit bigger as she smoothed out the purple wool. "Thank you. Fluttershy made it. I wanted to make sure they fit together." Her ears then perked up, and recalling what she'd smelled, she started brushing away one of the clumps of lingering spring snow. "I could find you some gems like it to bring back to Ponyville? Snack for the road?"

"Oh you don't have to--" But Sunset's voice was unheeded as Precious started to dig through snow and soil alike, in search of the prize she knew was beneath. And in time, she unearthed it, the much larger blue diamond shimmering in her paws. She could tell immediately from holding it that it was perfect, its resonance cool and clear as soon as it touched her, sending a tingling sensation through her fur. Enough of them could power truly massive spells, and if the pack had spotted her with it, they'd be clammouring over each other to be the one to present it and place it in the stockpile.

"Here!" Precious held out the gemstone to Spike, with a proud smile. "A big gem for a growing dragon."

"Thank you!" She watched him lick his lips, and she wondered if he could sense the potential in it too, in his own way. "These are one of my favourites."

"Actually, Precious, we were wondering..." Sunset had stepped in again, and Precious paused in the process of refilling the hole she'd dug. "Did you want to come visit Ponyville yourself? The rest of our friend group would love to meet you too, and our friend Pinkie has been talking about wanting to throw you a party to thank you for being a good friend to Fluttershy."

Friend? Fluttershy considered her a friend?

"I..."

She could picture it, then and there. Walking into the town in her purple sweater, meeting more ponies than she had ever seen before. The ones who would approach her, and ask her about her gemstone collar, about her clothing, possibly tell her stories like Fluttershy had. Maybe even getting to meet the alicorns, and learn how they'd taken control of the sun and moon.

"I... can't."

Twilight looked at her, eying her with open curiosity. "Why can't you?"

She didn't know how to answer. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to think of something. "Look at this!" came a painfully familiar voice, and she turned to see Rover pulling himself out of a newly-dug hole, cursing the realization that he'd been able to scrape together enough cleverness to do so downwind of her. As usual, Fido and Spot were right behind him, Fido needing to widen the opening for his greater bulk. "Good work, Precious. Now get them."

Sunset and Twilight both tensed, eyes boring into the three interlopers. Spike puffed out his chest, trying to look as big as could. Fluttershy, however, just kept looking between Precious and the three, seeming worried and confused.

"Rover, it's not..." She didn't know what she was going to say, until she looked at Spike, her stance steadying. "The ponies are with the dragon. They're not ours to get."

Rover sneered. "Then get the dragon too."

"That's..." She didn't believe what she was hearing. "That's against the Code of Canis. Dragons aren't supposed--"

Rover crossed his arms across his chest, looking from Spot to Fido. "This dragon is tiny. We can put it to work just like the ponies. Who's going to stop us?"

"We are." The words were from Sunset, voice low and dangerous, and both unicorns had their horns lit. The air turned heavy with an unnatural heat, giving Precious the urge to start panting.

Rover, however, didn't look impressed. "Silly pony lightshows," he said with a dismissive wave of a paw. "Go get them, Precious. You haven't caught a single pony all year. Now there's three. That'll be enough to take you off scout duty." His face split with a cruel smile. "You'll be back underground with the rest of us. Won't that be nice? You can even keep that..." He gestured at her sweater. "Thing you're wearing."

Back underground. With the rest of them. She could picture that, too, with the clarity of not just imagination, but memory. And as those memories weighed on her like water soaking into her fur, she knew the choice she had to make.

Precious took a step toward the ponies, but did so while staring her longtime nemesis in the eye. "No, Rover," she said, with a growl in her voice. "These ponies, and this dragon, are my friends."

"Friends?" He radiated disgust as he growled the word. "Dogs don't make friends with ponies. What kind of diamond dog are you?"

"A better one than you." She took a step toward him, baring her teeth, feeling her hackles raise even with the sweater covering them. "Now leave, Rover. You can't boss me around anymore."

"You... you little... whelp..." he snarled, his cronies starting to growl as he bared his teeth right back at her. Then he looked behind her, and she glanced at the ponies and dragon herself in turn. The 'lightshows' he'd dismissed grew brighter and the air shimmered with heat, Fluttershy was now pawing the ground and flaring her wings open, and thick, black smoke curled from Spike's nostrils. Slowly, his posture withdrew. "Fine! Leave with the ponies. Be a lapdog." He pointed a crooked claw at her wool-clad chest. "But you can never come back."

Precious huffed. "Gladly." She turned to the others, who were easing out of their own battle stances. "Ponyville, then?"

She could still hear him hurling insults after her as she walked away, but there was no sign him of following them. He wouldn't pursue beyond certain limits even if he'd tried to chase them, anyway. Diamond dogs didn't ever venture far from home, even to chase something of value.

Home.

She didn't have a home anymore, did she? After visiting Ponyville, where was she going to go? She'd imagined the ponies as welcoming, but Fluttershy had shown in her stories that she and her friends were exceptional ponies, alongside an exceptional dragon. She'd been afraid of approaching the others she spotted from her post, she could admit that now. Afraid that they would not be so friendly.

Her head sank from where she'd been holding it high, and when they were far away from Rover's jeers, she started to tremble, trembling that only grew when she heard Fluttershy's soft, questioning, "Precious? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry... that I never told you," she managed, softly. "I..." Tears welled in her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks, leaving tracks in her white fur. "I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore."

Something warm brushed against her paw, and she looked down to see Fluttershy nuzzling it. "Don't be silly. We'll always be friends, Precious." She opened a wing, patting her on the arm. "What the other dogs tried to make you do doesn't change anything. You're still you."

"He said you hadn't caught a pony all year," Twilight noted, as she and Spike moved a bit closer. "You've been letting everypony go?"

Precious sighed. Even if Fluttershy was still her friend, the secret was out, and there wasn't much point in lying. "I kept my distance, with the others. Fluttershy is the only one I talked to." Her ears twitched. "I just... couldn't do it. Kept thinking of excuses not to. You ponies are too... nice."

"You're pretty nice too," Sunset said with a smile as she came up on Precious's other side, opposite Fluttershy. She gave her arm a friendly nudge with her shoulder. "I think you'll fit right in, in Ponyville."

Fit right in. She had never fit in anywhere. There was a first time for everything, though, wasn't there? Precious looked around at her friends, looked out at the path ahead, and felt a weight lift off of her shoulders as she smiled.

Everything would be okay. She wasn't alone anymore.

Comments

[Cross Lament]

Precious is best pupper.

[fanreader999999]

Nice.

[Moproblems Moharmoney]

Love, love, love it!

Great lore, great use of Rarity/Precious. Wonderful!

[overdue]

my heart has been warmed

[The Iguana Man]

Huh... so, there's no way of saying this without making me sound spectacularly dim (not that that's necessarily wrong in general, but in this case at least I'm just not operating at 100%), but... well, see, when I saw this story, the premise intrigued me enough that I didn't read the tags beyond the genres, so I missed the character and the AU, and I didn't see that it was an entry to a contest, so, well... not only was I kind of blindsided when Sunset was brought up, but I kinda sorta... didn't twig that Precious was Rarity until I read the comments.

Yeah, even the opening line didn't clue me in - I just thought it was a cute reference and the story was just about a particularly pleasant and tasteful Diamond Dog. Yeah, I know, I can only make so many excuses.

That said, my own obliviousness aside, that might normally indicate something wrong with the writing if it could be missed like that... except for the fact that literally the instant the relationship was alluded to, it all clicked perfectly into place and I got it totally. Which, I think, is a sign of a very successful bit of re-imagining - Precious's species and upbringing have made her different enough from her pony counterpart that they're not identical and one could theoretically miss it, but the core of the character and many of her details are intact or well-adapted enough that, once you see it, it makes perfect sense. So, while I hesitated to admit my shame, I couldn't not as I think it's a sign of how well the story works.

So, as little as it probably means coming from me, very well done.

[tsaukpaetra]

A touching fic. 😇

[new55]

That was a good story.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Lovely work throughout. An artistic mind is a poor fit in a Diamond Dog warren. Thank goodness Precious found people who can appreciate her for who she is and not what they demand her to be. Thank you for this.

[mrier27]

Rarity is in the tags, and isn’t mentioned in the story itself at all… could it be a mistake, or does Precious represent Rarity in this universe?

[SilverNotes]

11593450
Yes, this story was originally written for the species change contest, and Rarity/Precious is the one with the change in species, from unicorn to diamond dog. I go into more detail on how I mapped Rarity into her new form and identity in a blog written shortly after this piece was.

[Ghost Mike]

An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!